Ethan Hawke Recalls Being 'Starstruck' After Meeting Robert Redford: 'One Of The Heroes Of My Life'

Ethan Hawke recently shared a fond memory he has of late movie star, Robert Redford, whom he called one of his "heroes."

The actor praised Redford, sharing that he was the kind of person who used his "power" and "privilege" to help others.

Ethan Hawke and Robert Redford first crossed paths during the former's audition for the 1992 period drama, "A River Runs Through It."

During his recent appearance on "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" Hawke recalled an audition encounter with the now-late Hollywood legend, Redford.

Hawke labeled Redford "one of the heroes of my life" and detailed the experience of meeting him and being turned down for an undisclosed role in the movie "A River Runs Through It."

"So this is the life of a young actor, it's tough, it's amazing. You get an audition for Robert Redford, right?" Hawke started, per EW. "And I get this little speech I'm supposed to memorize, and it's really long — it's like, a page and a half long — and I stay up all night working on this speech. I'm working on it, I'm working on it, I come into the audition, I'm half an hour early, sitting in a chair like this. They let me in, 'Mr. Redford will see you now.'"

On entering the room, Hawke recalled how stunned he was to meet Redford, who greeted him by shaking his hand and mentioning his name.

"He knew my name, and he knew where I was from. My brain started to break," the actor said. To add more pressure to the moment, the wall behind Redford was decorated with memorabilia from his past, including great film projects such as "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid" and "Downhill Racer."

When it was time for Hawke to read his lines, he said he blurted out to Redford how "starstruck" he was and asked if he "could just have like, 60 seconds to step out of the room and come back in again, I'll be ready."

Hawke noted that Redford, noticing how anxious he was, encouraged him to go home and return the next day for the audition.

"I don't want to come back tomorrow — dude, I didn't sleep all night! Now I've got the same speech to come in [and perform]," Hawke recounted, saying it was "absolute torture" to have been sent away.

When he returned the following day, Hawke successfully completed the audition, with the iconic director giving him some words of wisdom afterward.

Hawke recalled: "[Redford] said, 'I always give actors a second chance. I give 'em some notes and I let 'em try it one more time to see what they're made of, but you nailed it. And you're gonna have a great career, and you're too young for this part, but it was a pleasure to meet you.'"

Hawke admitted that he was left "stunned" by the rejection but noted that Redford had "saved [him] weeks and weeks of worrying."

"It hurt not to get the part and to know it immediately and to say it to my face, but it was the truth," he added.

Redford spent his later years in Tiburon, a quiet yet wealthy enclave overlooking the San Francisco Bay.

There, the Oscar-winning actor and his wife, Sibylle Szaggars, settled into a close-knit community of friends and neighbors before his passing in September at the age of 89.

Locals who spoke with the Daily Mail remembered Robert as warm and approachable, though shadowed by grief.

A server at a waterfront restaurant where the "Out of Africa" actor dined weekly recalled: "He was one of my best customers and he came weekly. Bob, as we called him, would sit at the same round table every week with his wife and friends, and he was incredibly gracious."

They added: "He talked to the staff and was personable, he asked questions and was interested in everyone. But there was an intense sadness to him after his son died a few years ago."

Robert parted ways with the Bay Area last year, selling his Tiburon residence for $4.65 million after first listing it in December 2024 for $4.15 million.

According to locals, the Oscar winner and his wife, Szaggars, were drawn to Santa Fe, New Mexico, where she runs her own gallery, Sibylle Szaggars Redford Fine Art.

"He said he loved Tiburon, but it was time for a change," the waiter recalled. "He said he would come back to visit. Everyone misses him because he was nice and a class act. He was so gracious. We are sad he died."

Friends and neighbors also remember Redford's deep appreciation for the outdoors. A fellow trail walker shared: "Hiking was a big deal for Bob when he was younger; he walked the trails all the time and knew the name of every flower and plant. He liked the local flora and fauna, and was a real nature lover type."

Robert was celebrated as one of the defining film stars of his era, remembered for classics like "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid," "All the President's Men," and "The Sting."

In 1980, he stepped behind the camera for the first time with "Ordinary People," a film that earned four Oscars, including Best Director.

Beyond his work as an actor and director, Robert shaped the future of cinema through the Sundance Institute and the Sundance Film Festival, both of which became vital platforms for independent filmmakers.

He was equally committed to environmental causes, devoting a significant portion of his life to conservation and advocacy.